Designed by William A. Potter in a Romanesque style, Alexander is rich in ornate detail. Although it cannot be considered a complete success aesthetically, the big, round, granite and brownstone building has always seemed able to meet the changing needs of succeeding generations and to accommodate many different activities -- student mass meetings, political gatherings, football rallies, concerts, lectures, and speeches.

Alexander Hall holds an undeserved place of scorn in the mythology of Princeton undergraduates. Legend has it that Alexander Hall was designed by a student as his architectural thesis -- and that he received a failing grade for his effort.

Later, the story goes, this same alumnus got his revenge by agreeing to donate a large sum to the University, but only if the gift were used to construct his failed senior thesis project. A great story, but completely apocryphal.

Princeton posted this story on its Facebook page today. The article addresses 10 myths about the school, one of which is the Alexander Hall myth. The article is from 1999; it seems very persistent.

Quote:

Myth: For his thesis in the architecture department, a senior designed a concert hall. His adviser hated the design so much that the project received an F. Years later, after the senior had made piles of money in the architecture business, he agreed to give Princeton money for a new auditorium -- on the condition that it build his failed thesis. Construction soon started on Alexander Hall.

Fact: Alexander Hall was given by Harriet Crocker Alexander in 1892 to honor her husband's family, who had been alumni and trustees of Princeton for three generations. The building was designed by William Potter, who also designed East Pyne and the Chancellor Green Library -- now part of the Student Center -- and was not a Princeton graduate. Alexander Hall was the last Romanesque building constructed on campus before the trustees adopted the Tudor Gothic style. In 1959 undergraduates voted the hall the building they would "most like to see burn down." On a visit to campus, Frank Lloyd Wright is reported to have said that Alexander was the only building at Princeton with "personality."

On a visit to campus, Frank Lloyd Wright is reported to have said that Alexander was the only building at Princeton with "personality."

I was about to shoot that down since Wright rarely had anything good to say about buildings other than his own. Then I looked at this pic and it is a very unusual building, like something Wright's mentor Louis Sullivan would've done.

I heard pretty much the same legend about Harrelson Hall at my own alma matter, an unusual cylindrical modernist building that people seem to either love or hate. I started a thread about a long time ago on the old board which I don't feel like searching for right now. In that version, the reason for the failing grade was "it can't be built."

Of course, when I searched for a picture of the building the one I decided to use led me to a bio of the architect wo designed it which pretty much debunks the legend.

I was about to shoot that down since Wright rarely had anything good to say about buildings other than his own. Then I looked at this pic and it is a very unusual building, like something Wright's mentor Louis Sullivan would've done.

It's a little odd looking, but better odd than boring. Some buildings are aggressively out of place in their surroundings, but I can't tell just from the pictures what the location is like, so I don't know if that's the problem.

What I really dislike on some campuses are the Brutalist architecture monstrosities from the 60s & 70s. Pretty much any older stone building will win out against some ugly utilitarian concrete box. Some of the newer glass and steel buildings can be more stylish, although they aren't always.